Irish street artist builds new urban art installation in Fayetteville

Eoin Murphy, one of the assistants to Irish artist Maser, helps to build the structure for a new art installation in downtown Fayetteville.

Staff photo

Visitors to Fayetteville’s downtown entertainment district will soon have a new piece of public art to enjoy.

The structure for a new art installation by Irish artist Maser as it sits on Monday before the artist paints it later this week.

Staff photo

Irish street artist Maser, known for his colorful murals and public installations, is working on a new piece at the corner of Spring Street and West Avenue, in front of the Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios.

The new work was commissioned as part of the WAC’s annual Artosphere festival, a collection of events created as a celebration of art, nature, and sustainability.

The installation, titled Under the Stars, is a sculptural piece that is also designed to be functional, Maser said.

“It’s a three-dimensional painting, but it has a playful manner to it as well,” he said. “It’s an interactive space, so it can be a basic stage so someone could perform on it, or they could just have a beer on it.”

Maser, along with his assistant Eoin Murphy and several Artosphere volunteers, built the structure for the installation last week, with plans to paint it beginning Tuesday, May 6.

Those who wish to watch the artist in action can catch him working on it during daylight hours through Friday or Saturday, depending on how long it takes to complete.

“The process is just as important as the finished thing,” he said. “The idea for public art is people take ownership of it, which means using it, but also constructing it and having a hand in it.”

The work is intend to stay on display for about a year, Maser said, depending on how it ages in the space.

Maser plans to call Fayetteville home for a couple years as he works on a three-year visa to create content for upcoming art shows in Madison (WI), Miami, Chicago and New York. He also said he hopes to leave his mark with a mural somewhere in town if he can find the right project.

“We really enjoy it here,” he said “We genuinely like the people, and the environment. It’s laid back, but busy enough. It’s just a good atmosphere.”

After the painting is complete, Maser will put the finishing touches on the piece which should be fully finished sometime early next week.

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